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Inside the TSP hack job

On or about July 2011, somebody (an individual, an organized group, a foreign
government?) hacked into a computer belonging to a contractor that works
for the Federal Thrift Investment Board. The board manages the Thrift Savings
Plan, the federal 401(k)-style plan. The plan operates the accounts of 4.5 million
current, retired and former federal workers and military personnel. Those
accounts include everybody from your favorite letter carrier or forest ranger to
your neighbor who may be with the CIA. Or FBI.

The FBI discovered the hack attack and notified the TSP's
contractor in April of this year; the contractor notified the board. On May 25,
the board sent out letters to 123,000 employees whose data was hacked. The names,
addresses and Social Security numbers of about 43,000 TSP participants were
compromised, as were the Social Security numbers and TSP-related information of
about 80,000 others.

Naturally, TSP account holders have lots of questions. On
yesterday's Your Turn radio show, we had a chance to talk with
Greg Long, the executive director of the board. The full interview is archived on
our home page so you can listen
anytime. There is also a Q&A posted by the board that should answer most of your
questions. Meantime, here's a thumbnail sketch of what Long had to say yesterday:

No news is good news. If you haven't gotten a letter from the board
it means your data was not hacked. Long said that fewer than 3 percent of the TSP
account data was compromised.

Nobody has lost any money. Long said although the break-in occurred
last July there is no indication that there has been any related account activity.

All of the 123,000 accounts where data was stored were on one computer
maintained by a private vendor who runs the TSP program.

In about 80,000 of the 123,000 accounts, only Social Security numbers were
exposed, but no names, addresses or bank account information.

In about 43,000 of the 123,000 accounts, hacked data included names,
addresses and Social Security numbers. A smaller group of the 43,000 also had
bank routing numbers, belonging to people getting payments from the TSP,
exposed.

The full year of credit monitoring and protection is free to
participants.

The FBI is handling the investigation and it controls the timeline for
any further release of information.

Standing on the side of the road with outstretched thumb became the universal
symbol for hitch-hiking in the 1920s, Slate
reports. The first time the term hitch-hike appeared in print was in 1923 in
The Nation.

TSP executive director gives update on data
breachIt's been nearly three weeks since the Thrift Savings Plan board announced a
data breach of 123,000 TSP accounts, and since then, the board has been fielding
questions from participants, Congress and the media. One of the most common
questions: Is my account safe?

VA launches virtual hiring event for
veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking its jobs fair to Detroit later this
month - Just don't call it a jobs fair. VA calls it a hiring event, because
employers will be equipped to make job offers on site. And it won't be accessible
only in Detroit June 25-29. But servicemembers at five bases will have virtual
access.